Last year these days, Turkey, like the rest of the world, was wondering when the first case of the coronavirus will be discovered and whether a lockdown will be imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19.
European Union high representative for foreign and security policies Josep Borrell’s visit to Cyprus where he held meetings with both Turkish and Greek Cypriot leadership on March 5 was important to reveal –once again- how Brussels’ weight and role in the context of intercommunal talks for resolving the decades-old problem were weakened in the recent years.
March will mark important developments that could shape the future of Turkish politics. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its main political ally under the People’s Alliance, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), both will hold their big conventions this month on March 24 and March 18, respectively.
A much-anticipated human rights action plan was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday. As can be recalled, the government had first mentioned its intention to announce and implement an action plan concerning human rights in late 2019 in the context of the resumption of the works of the Reform Action Plan.
Turkey will soon mark the first anniversary of the pandemic as the first COVID-19 case was spotted on March 11 last year, which was followed by strict nationwide restrictions. Turkey started to observe its second peak in the fall of 2020 which pushed the government to re-impose weekend curfews and night curfews as well as the abandonment of face-to-face education. More importantly, restaurants, cafés and other similar public places have also been shut down since mid-November 2020.
A window of opportunity between Turkey and Greece to de-escalate tensions in the eastern Mediterranean and reconcile their relations opened last December. Turkey has withdrawn its Oruç Reis and Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa research vessels from the disputed waters, while the EU has outlined a positive agenda to improve ties with Turkey.
The merciless killing of 13 Turkish nationals at the hands of the PKK in a cave in northern Iraq continues to be in the spotlight in terms of both internal politics and Turkey’s relationship with its allies at NATO.
The slaughter of 13 Turkish nationals, including privates and policemen who were held by the PKK for years, by the PKK terrorists in a cave in northern Iraq during the Turkish army’s operation in northern Iraq’s Gara province has created a national rage and anger.
A new era has surely begun in Libya after the election of Mohammed al-Menfi as the head of the Presidency Council and Abdulhamid Dbeibeh as the prime minister whose task is to accomplish the inter-Libyan political process and hold the elections in December. Many have assessed the defeat of the head of the House of Representatives in Tobruk, Aquila Saleh, and Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha against al-Menfi and Dbeibeh to be shocking.
